But two have accepted free trips, documents show.

March 31, 2014|By Scott Kraus and Steve Esack, Of The Morning Call

Following the frenzy over Attorney General Kathleen Kane's decision to drop an investigation against Philadelphia state lawmakers alleged to have failed to report cash and other gifts from an informant, all four Democrats running for governor called for outright gift bans.

"The only way to give people the belief that their representatives in Harrisburg are not bought and paid for is to prohibit all gifts to lawmakers, their staff and all other state employees, including the governor," wrote Democrat Katie McGinty in a letter to legislative leaders.

But does that include travel? The candidates' plans haven't specifically addressed it. State disclosure forms treat gifts and travel separately.

If it does, at least two of the gubernatorial candidates — Treasurer Rob McCord and Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz — have accepted free travel while in office that, while legal and in compliance with existing ethics guidelines, would be prohibited by a blanket gift ban. They documented their travel on state or federal disclosure reports.

State records only go back to 2008, so it's impossible to check gifts and travel received before that date. That itself is a problem, reform groups say.

Only one of McGinty's annual disclosures is still available, for example. She was Department of Environmental Protection secretary from 2003 to 2008, and is fairly certain she didn't take any gifts or travel during that time, according to a spokesman. The same is true for Tom Wolf, who was revenue secretary from 2007-2008. A spokesman said Wolf did not take any gifts in 2007. On the 2008 forms, neither reported accepting any gifts or travel.

Republican Gov. Tom Corbett has accepted a variety of gifts as governor and before that as attorney general, including tickets to sporting events, air travel and lodging. He supports a ban on cash gifts, which is now under discussion in the Legislature.

Even if some of the Democrats now calling for a gift ban accepted travel expenses in the past, getting them all on the record in favor of a ban in advance of the election is a good thing, said Barry Kauffman, executive director of Common Cause Pennsylvania, which has supported a gift ban for more than a decade.

"That is the culture we live in now," Kauffman said. "We are calling for a cultural change, and that should take some major adjustments. The rules as they currently exist are not healthy for a democracy to create government integrity."

Pennsylvania's ethics laws are very weak compared with other states, so it's not surprising some of the candidates for its highest office have gotten free travel, said Tom Baldino, a political science professor at Wilkes University.

"The most one can say is there is appearance of impropriety, but it is legal," Baldino said.

But Timothy Potts, co-founder of the reform group Democracy Rising, said nothing says a public official has to accept free travel just because it is allowed.

If a trip has an important educational or policy purpose that advances the public interest, it can be paid for using tax dollars, he said. If not, the public official should foot the bill.

"If you can't explain why the public is paying for it," Potts said, "then you shouldn't be doing it."

Schwartz reported travel, food and lodging for herself and a family member on three occasions in 2012 under strict congressional ethics rules that, among other things, prohibit lobbyists from traveling with the recipient or organizing or paying for the event they are traveling to.

The nonprofit Alliance for Health Reform flew Schwartz to Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; the International Conservation Caucus Foundation funded a trip to Rio de Janero in June, and the Aspen Institute paid for a trip to San Diego in February. All three included airfare, meals and lodging for Schwartz and a family member.

Schwartz spokesman Marc Bergman said the congresswoman has pushed for ethics reforms while in Congress and in her time as a state lawmaker.

"In 1997, she stood up to her own leadership for tougher disclosure requirements on gifts and fought against giving legislators higher pensions. In Washington, she helped pass stricter ethics rules and a tough congressional gift ban," he said.

McCord accepted travel on several occasions since first being elected treasurer in 2008, all of it to investment-related conferences. In 2012, he accepted a $1,002 trip to the Public Funds Summit at the Phoenician Hotel in Scottsdale, Ariz., from the Opal Group, which organized the gathering that brings together fund managers, high net individuals and financial firms.

"Rob believes that we can improve the rules that govern gifts in our state," spokesman Mark Nevins said. "He would like to see a ban on gifts and, in particular, cash and money order gifts and contributions. He looks forward to leading that conversation."